Iowa Legislature Looks To Wrap Up In The Near Future
Guy Vander Linden (R) at the Iowa Statehouse Tuesday morning (photo by Don Hubbard)
Des Moines, Iowa – On Tuesday, the Iowa Legislature was still slogging it’s way through legislation, and with no paycheck anymore, lawmakers are looking to find quick results to Iowa’s pressing issues.
Oskaloosa’s Guy Vander Linden said that Mental Health Reorganization was the plan, and he had hoped that it would be passed before noon on Tuesday. Once it passed, it was sent to the Senate and will probably end up in conference committee.
The bill, which will replace the current system that is based upon a county-by-county system. New legislation will form regions with the mandate to provide services to people with mental illnesses.
Also kicking around the floor of the House is the Education Reform Bill. The appropriations bills have made it to conference committee, “So we’re just kind of hammering it out at this point,” says Vander Linden.
“All the real work is going on in conference committees between the leadership of the House and the Senate; we’ll trade you this for that. That kind of thing.”
Vander Linden doesn’t see a session like last year’s record amount of days in session, that took the state down to the wire for its yearly budget.
“I hope this week, it shouldn’t be much longer than that,” Vander Linden said on his outlook for the session to wrap up.
“We’re just down to finishing the budgets,” Senator Tom Rielly said of the remaining session. “Coming to terms on how much money we put towards mental health, human services. Put money towards our local schools so they don’t have to raise property taxes.” Rielly said that putting money towards community colleges and grant funds is also important so that education is affordable.
“We’re at conference committees, which means that the House and the Senate can’t agree. They come to a committee in front of the cameras, in front of the reporters and they have to make their arguments why we should or we shouldn’t do this.”
“They can’t say we don’t have money. They can’t say our economy is doing terrible. Our unemployment continues to drop down to 5.2%. I’d like to see it go a couple percent lower, and I’m confident we’re going to get there.”
“We’re flush with cash right now. I’d like to see us try to put more money towards our community colleges; our regent universities; our small colleges; so our students aren’t graduating with mountains of debt like they are right now.”
Rielly outlined some items he would like to see get accomplished yet this year, like getting commercial property tax relief in place in a way that won’t harm city and county budgets. “That way they don’t have to gut their budgets.”
This is the final days of Senator Rielly’s time at the Capitol. He now turns his sights towards a new challenge in running for Mahaska County Supervisor, as he’s running against fellow Democrat Denis Currier in the June Primary election.
